Eastern Colombian Páramo Liodessus Guignot, 1939 diving beetles are genetically structured, but show signs of hybridization, with description of new species and subspecies (Coleoptera, Dytiscidae)

By

Balke, Michael
Neven, Katja
Villastrigo, Adrian
Ospina, Rodulfo
Prieto, Carlos
Gutierrez Rubiano, Nicolas
Lotta, Ingrid
Dueñas, Luisa
Hendrich, Lars

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2023

Original Publication

ZooKeys

Volume

1143

Pages

165--187

Subjects

Colombia , Dytiscidae , eastern cordillera , Liodessus , new species , new subspecies , Páramo

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1143.97461

 

Abstract

We studied Liodessus diving beetles from six eastern Colombian Páramo areas, as well as from the Altiplano. We discovered a highly characteristic new species, based on male genital morphology, Liodessus santarositasp. nov., in the Páramo de Guantiva-Rusia. Specimens from the Altiplano around Bogotá, and the Páramos of Almorzadero, Chingaza, Matarredonda, Rabanal y Rio Bogotá and Sumapaz form one clade of genetically similar populations based on mitochondrial Cox1 sequence data. The individuals of this clade are sub-structured according to their geographic distribution. The populations differ from each other mainly in terms of body size and coloration and, at most, subtly in their genital morphology. In two cases, we find putative hybrid populations between Altiplano and Páramo areas. We suggest that the different Páramo populations are in an early phase of speciation, and perhaps already genetically isolated in some cases. They are here assigned subspecies status to highlight these ongoing processes pending more comprehensive geographic sampling and use of genomic data. We refer to this clade as the Liodessus bogotensis complex, containing Liodessus b. bogotensis Guignot, 1953; Liodessus b. almorzaderossp. nov.; Liodessus b. chingazassp. nov.; Liodessus b. lacunaviridis Balke et al., 2021, stat. nov.; Liodessus b. matarredondassp. nov., and Liodessus b. sumapazssp. nov.